The Press Box.

Dimaggio Recovering, Friend Says

October 29, 1998|By Mark Shapiro.

MIAMI — Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio is "on his way to recovery" from a "life-threatening" case of pneumonia, his lawyer said.

Morris Engelberg, a Miami attorney and DiMaggio's friend, said the 83-year-old former New York Yankees center-fielder sat up in a chair Wednesday for the first time since being admitted to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood on Oct. 12.

"It's going to be a long recovery, but Joe D is going to make it," Engelberg told Bloomberg News. "He's not going to die."

He said DiMaggio will be in the hospital at least two more weeks.

"I didn't think he'd make it last Sunday," Engelberg said. "I was ready to call a priest."

DiMaggio is taking antibiotics to fight the illness, Engelberg said. He was bedridden until Wednesday morning, when he was sitting up and watching TV.